Based on the favorable outcomes in relation to the Santa Teresa solar power project, it is believed that there is great potential to expand this program to other communities that are in need of electricity. Other communities with competent and well managed boards such as Crique Sarco may now be identified as beneficiaries for similar projects in the future. It may be advisable for the solar power board of Santa Teresa to seize the opportunity to train personnel from within the village so that they can capitalize on possible income generating activities that may become available in other villages (that may need trained individuals to assist with the implementation of their solar power systems). 20 | P a g e The general consensus among the participants at the workshop was that the santa Teresa Power Board should now put systems in place to have interested residents of the village be trained to become trainers so that the project may be expanded and replicated effectively in other communities in the future. Some of the benefits of the ?train the trainer? approach proposed include the following: · Training cost savings ? Cost per participant will be typically lower than when hiring an outside trainer due to the fact the trainer will be right from within the village and this will greatly cut down on traveling and accommodation costs. Therefore reasonable savings can be made. · More focused and relevant training? Having trainers from within the village who know the dynamics of the demographical area will make it more possible that trainings provided may be more focused on the specific needs of the communities selected. · Can use current examples ? Trainings organized by the Santa Teresa solar power board members who become trainers means the courses can be prepared to address each individual community?s electrical power needs using the system in Santa Teresa as a model to follow. · Convenience ? Organizing training for a group of individuals all with their own timetables and responsibilities can be a very difficult task. However by having trained trainers from the Santa Teresa solar power board in the area, this will make it possible to work around people?s schedules a lot easier and would allow for the cutting out of logistical issues as well as the fact any participants or trainers can be easily reached in case something arises that needs to be addressed quickly. · Team building ? Having trainers and trainees who are well familiar with each other makes it possible to develop team building among members of the Santa Teresa power board. It is often in this social learning that the most learning is done when ideas are being bounced off each other. This will also likely lead to increased awareness and understanding of each other?s roles as well as enhance morale among Santa Teresa power board members and trained personnel.

Data obtained will be used to calculate the actual level of GHG emissions avoided through the implementation of this community-level project. Residents of Santa Teresa will be part of this project from beginning to end.

The Power Board will collect small monthly fees so that systems can be maintained and repaired in the long term and the engineer can be paid. In addition, the solar workshop will operate as a small business, not limited to the beneficiaries. Thus the initial package of parts includes additional solar components which can be used to generate addition income for the Power board. The engineer also has the capacity to repair and build charge controllers. In addition to the Solar Workshop business, the presence of electricity is a powerful stimulator of small and micro-enterprise.

The Village has formed a Power Board which has already carried out surveys to determine each household?s preference for size of solar system. The village has agreed to help build the workshop for Ms. Choc to use and manage. Also Residents have already agreed to pay a small fee for their power. The Power Board will administer the funds collected with oversight by the Ministry of Rural Development.

The evaluative findings suggested that at this particular point in time, the village of Santa Teresa does not have the financial resources required to conduct expansion of this venture nor even sustain the existing system on its own outside of GEF SGP, Plenty International Belize or assistance from another donor. However, the community members may explore ways of capitalizing on income generating opportunities that will very likely be on the horizon in the future. One of the avenues to the sustainability of the endeavor that the villagers of Santa Teresa are considering is the establishment of a not-for-profit company that will be engaged in the building, selling, installation and maintenance of solar power systems in neighboring communities. The idea is that this should generate funds that will be used to sustain the existing system in Santa Teresa. The first step of this process is the setting up of a team of trained personnel from Santa Teresa Village. This team has already been formed and includes two men and two women from the village (to encourage and foster gender equity in the program). The team has already undergone some training under the tutelage of the solar engineer and the Executive Director of Plenty International Belize, Mr. Mark Miller. According to Mr. Ambrose Tillett, Energy Director at the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology, ?The Prime Minister and the European Commission signed an agreement where the European Union is giving Belize a grant of 27 million euros between now and the end of 2020. Over that period, the money will be disbursed and the government has agreed that half of that money (13.5 million) will be used to support energy transformation for sustainable energy.? This project will well underway by 2018. The solar power team in Santa Teresa sees this as an opportunity to provide solar power system services to those villages that are selected to benefit through this program. These services may be provided to generate income for the solar power board of Santa Teresa and enable them to keep their venture sustainable. The funds generated from this endeavor may be used for the maintenance of the existing system as well as providing some compensation for key stakeholders involved in the project (as an incentive to keep them motivated). In preparation for this possible opportunity, the solar power team has proposed that a village meeting be held in which the idea to provide solar power system services to communities that will be the recipients of solar power systems under the EU-GoB arrangement will be discussed. The team may also begin planning on erecting their own small facility, which will serve as a workshop separate from the existing solar energy workshop to avoid any potential disruptions with ongoing solar power services in the village. Under the upcoming EU project, recipients from chosen villages will be receiving 10 W or 40 W solar power systems. The GoB will provide a subsidy of 90% of the cost of the systems (for each recipient). The households will be required to come up with the remaining 10%. The typical 10 W system presently costs approximately $200 (GoB will pay $180 and the recipients will pay $20). The standard 40 W system has an estimated cost of $800 (GoB will therefore pay $720 and the households will pay $80). The solar power team will make projections based on these arrangements and will develop a proposal that will enable them to capitalize on this initiative in the near future. From an environmental standpoint, the project?s contributions to sustainability takes several forms. This project will replace kerosene lamps and candles in all households of Santa Teresa. Solar power does not produce greenhouse gases, so the project will mitigate against climate change by decreasing CO2 released. The village estimates that they use 408 gallons of kerosene per year, so this project would save a minimum of 8,787 pounds (or 3.99 tons) of CO2 per year. At the end of the project, detailed responses about energy use will enable the calculation of GHG?s avoided, based on the actual energy use by the households. As it relates to social sustainability, the entire village will have increased capacity to understand climate change issues which will empower Santa Teresa to plan for the future. The Barefoot engineer now has the capacity to maintain the household solar systems, and she will train others to assist. The fact that the engineer is a woman also contributes to social sustainability because it will help the village move towards gender equality. Where economic sustainability is concerned the Power Board is collecting small monthly fees so that systems can be maintained and repaired in the long term and the engineer can be paid. In addition, the solar workshop will eventually operate as a small business, not limited to the beneficiaries. Thus, the initial package of parts includes additional solar components which can be used to generate additional income for the Power board. The engineer also has the capacity to repair and build charge controllers. In addition to the Solar Workshop business, the presence of electricity is a powerful stimulator of small and micro-enterprise.

The project was not able to influence policy at a national level, but there were many lessons learned regarding managing a solar electrification board for a community. Based on the discussions conducted during the participatory end of project workshop, it became clear that the community is in need of a detailed and welldeveloped plan to ensure the sustainability of the initiative. Additionally, there is an urgent need to put mechanisms in place to maintain the systems that are already up and running. This plan will serve as a guide and will provide important direction for the community over the next few years (as it relates to solar power systems). It should form the basis for clarifying objectives and priorities, setting standards, policies and procedures and measuring performance of the solar power board in regards to the project.

The project will install a prominent sign in Santa Teresa at the Solar Workshop. An opening ceremony for the workshop will be held. Villagers of the neighboring communities of Blue Creek and Jordan as well as dignitaries from Department of Rural Development and Ministry of Energy will be invited to learn about the efforts of Santa Teresa to become electrified. The local TV station, PGTV, will be invited to do a report on the Santa Teresa solar system for its programming. In addition, 1,000 exercise books for the schoolchildren and t-shirts promoting the solar system will be produced.

This is a project to empower the people of Santa Teresa. They are already familiar with the benefits of solar energy having been a finalist in a prior Plenty Belize project. The Village has already sent a resident, Ms. Florentina Choc, to the Barefoot College to train as a solar-engineer. At project end, residents will be surveyed to obtain information on the use of their systems and to determine how satisfied they are with the project and with their electric systems.